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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26553136">Big City Nights</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/N1ghtshade/pseuds/JustAnotherWriter'>JustAnotherWriter (N1ghtshade)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Night+Hunt [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>MacGyver (TV 2016)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Vampire AU, Vampire hunters AU, but according to legend vampires are obsessed with numbers and counting, no I haven't been thinking about this since he was introduced, okay yes I was, vampire russ</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:34:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,604</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26553136</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/N1ghtshade/pseuds/JustAnotherWriter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Desi's met old vampires. She's fought them. And they don't last long by being as free with their whereabouts as this one's been since he set foot on American soil.</p><p>Detroit-based vampire hunter Desi Ngyuen is about to take down the city's newest threat, a supposedly centuries old vampire calling himself Dumitru. But something about him doesn't sit right...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Desiree "Desi" Nguyen &amp; Russ Taylor</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Night+Hunt [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1107537</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Big City Nights</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So I wanted to try my hand at introducing these two characters to my Vampire Hunters AU 'verse, Night + Hunt! Hope you enjoy (they'll very likely be making an appearance when I manage to get around to the next fic in this universe!)</p><p>(In case anyone doesn't recognize the name Ibrahim, he's the informant Desi talks about going AWOL to rescue in 3.15, and I ended up deciding to give him a role in this story!)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Desi whips her Harley in and out of the Detroit evening traffic. If the message she was sent half an hour ago is right, she's got no time to waste.  According to one of her informants, a priority target was just spotted ordering a drink at the BloodSpot, the hottest vampire club in downtown Detroit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pulls up outside the neon signs advertising a private nightclub, 'invitation only'. Desi chuckles. No one guesses what really goes on behind the doors of the Silver Moon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She parks and locks her motorcycle at a rack outside the building, then steps up to the alley door and knocks in a rapid, staccato pattern, glancing at the camera set into the graffiti-painted wall as she does. A moment later door locks disengage with a soft hiss, and she steps into the black-and-white hallways of the secret vampire hunter agency. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She runs her fingers through her hair to tame the static from the helmet, then steps into the locker room, hanging up her black leather jacket with the circular moon phase cycle design embroidered on the back. Five minutes later she walks out in a shimmery, low-cut teal dress, a pair of gold heeled sandals, and a gold-glitter clutch purse holding her stakes and her Baby Glock that has a full mag of silver bullets. She adjusts a pair of long, waterfall diamond earrings and meets her partner at the silver Corvette they'll be taking from the motor pool tonight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ibrahim is the best partner she's ever had. He was a hunter in Syria until he and his family fled unrest to settle in Dearborn. He's got a family, a wife, a daughter, and a son, and his oldest just started high school. Ibrahim has the seniority and the skill to take a less dangerous position, but he won't. He's determined to stay a field hunter, and Desi is determined to watch his back and make sure he comes home.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ibrahim drives them quickly to the BloodSpot, parking beside the curb to let Desi out at the door. She swipes an extra layer of crimson lipstick over her mouth, checking her work in the rearview mirror, before tucking the tube into her purse, then walks up to the door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The doorman knows her, everyone who's met her once does. He lets her pass without asking for the password other guests are required to give. Clearly the owners have learned from the last time she was here that it's best not to interfere in hunter business.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Desi glances in the direction of her informant. If she speaks directly to Mason, she'll be painting a target on the vampire's back, but with a nod, he indicates the bar where her target is apparently still waiting. Desi pushes through the crowd and sits down on a stool, ordering a whiskey straight and taking a sip before setting it down, running her finger over the rim and feeling the residue of her too-thick lipstick. She turns and studies the man sitting beside her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The vampire sipping a scotch and blood on the rocks looks every inch the ancient creature he claims to be. Silvered dark hair, and aristocratic face, and a carefully tailored suit. Dumitru is, from all accounts the agency's heard, one of Dracula's original victims. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Desi isn't buying it. She's met old vampires. She's fought them. And they don't last long by being as free with their whereabouts as this one's been since he set foot on American soil.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Are you really Dumitru?" She whispers, leaning in and trying to appear as much like an awestruck groupie as possible. "I've heard stories."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes, that I am." He has an Eastern European accent, but it's tinged with something else. To an experienced ear, it's not his native accent. He looks very self-satisfied, leaning back on the bar and tugging the lapels of his white suit, adjusting the black cravat below it. Desi can't see his turn mark below it. It would make sense that he would hide the wound if he's lying about his age. Turn marks never heal, but they do change appearance as a vampire ages. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She giggles, pretending to be drunker than she is. "I can't believe it. I've waited to meet an old vampire all my life. There's such...romance about them." She reaches out with a lipstick-and-whiskey coated finger and traces his lips, smiling inanely. He doesn't notice when she removes a single loose hair from his beard. She pulls out her compact, pretending to look into the mirror while slipping the hair inside it. She hears the faint trill that tells her the sample is being broken down for analysis. But there's a much faster method to finding out who this vampire used to be. Before she closes her compact Desi presses the button on the side that activates the camera hidden behind the rhinestone in the center of the lid. The photo that flashes up on the 'mirror' is a perfect three-quarter profile of the vampire in question, and should already be filtering through their databases. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She continues making small talk and sipping her drink, until Dumitru steps away from the bar. She sees Ibrahim near the door, and nods to him, pressing the comm in her ear. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't let him leave. Other than that, don't crowd him." If she's right, she's going to have one hell of a bargaining chip in a few minutes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her phone chimes and she pulls it out of her purse, smiling. She follows Dumitru (or not) into the crowd, singling him out where he's talking to a tall brunette with a pouty expression and fangs that glitter in the lights. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hello again," She says, still pretending to be intoxicated. She reaches for his arm, hanging off him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm sorry, but you're not really my type, love."  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"But you have to see this," She slurs, holding up her phone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tenses the moment he sees what's on the screen, and her grip on his arm turns to iron. "I think you should come with me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nods, slowly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turns to one of the bouncers, putting back on her false drunk voice. "Is there somewhere we can go in here to be alone?" She asks, pressing a messy kiss to the vampire's cheek. The bouncer shows them to a small alcove room, and after unlocking the door, lets them into a space that's nearly round, the wall circled by a red plush seat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The moment the door closes, the vampire collapses to the seat, leaning his head back against the wall, closing his eyes. "What do you want?" His accent suddenly turns from Eastern European to a very distinct British, that definitely is his native tongue.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The truth," Desi says. "And in exchange, I won't tell the world that Dumitru the ancient vampire is just a wanna-be."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sighs. "I suppose that's only fair." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You were pretty boring before you got turned. It took us a while to track you down, seeing as you weren't in any American databases." Desi smiles, letting a look of triumphant success cross her face. "Russell Taylor, formerly of Wiggonholt, Sussex. I can see why you decided to sweep those little important details under the rug." Taylor looks distressed. "Your career wasn't much more exciting. A degree in actuarial science from the University of Sussex and a career spent in various windowless cubicles for insurance companies and banks. Then you joined a foreign aid agency working to rebuild in a war-torn city in Moldova. You disappeared during the bombing of a hospital and were presumed dead. No body was ever found." She shakes her head. "That was barely a year ago. You're little more than a fledgling." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taylor sighs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Her name was Emilia. She worked in a hospital on the night shift. I met her when I helped rebuild the surgery wing." He looks away into a corner of the room. "She saved my life. Or...whatever it is you call this." He glances at Desi, his eyes flickering between brown and crimson. "The bombings...I was too close. I thought I was going to die. And then I woke up and felt like...like I'd been reborn. Stronger. My bad knee from rugby wasn't hurting anymore." He chuckles humorlessly. "Bloody hell seemed to about cover it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So your sire, what happened to her?" Desi asks. She can't imagine a vampire letting a fledgling wander the streets like this and risk exposing both of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We parted ways," he says softly. "I did the one thing she could not forgive. I drank human blood." He sighs. "She had dedicated her life, living and undead, to protecting humans. And she could not stand to watch them hurt. She told me she couldn't live with someone who would endanger them so carelessly." He looks genuinely remorseful. Maybe even heartbroken. "I couldn't stand to be in the places that reminded me of her. So I left." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Desi glances at him. "You want to help make it right?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What did you have in mind?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We're looking for a very old vampire, who's just entered the country. And right now, you're the only one I know who might be able to help us find him." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taylor may not be an old vampire, but judging by the excellent fortune he's had at the gambling tables since he came to town, he's more or less a human computer in calculating probabilities and statistics. And right now, that's the best lead she'll get on the whereabouts of the vampire known to the agencies only as the alias Nicholas Helman. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Count me in."</span>
</p>
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